Craft An Epic Snowball Fight With Samurai Santa!

#thebigone is six, and like many kiddos his age, he’s a fan of all things Ninja Turtles, Karate Kid, and Power Rangers. I’ve been a huge fan of all things Christmas since birth, essentially, so when I came across Samurai Santa: A Very Ninja Christmas (affiliate disclosure) at the library recently, I knew it was a perfect match for us to take a look at together.

And sure enough, one reading of Rubin Pingk’s book was all it took for us to fall in love… #thebigone was enamored with rush and excitement of an epic snowball battle between some young ninjas & the big jolly elf himself. Meanwhile, I couldn’t get enough of the illustrations- blocks of flat color in shades of red, blue, white, and grey make up the entire book, with a distinctly Asian flair. I loved the little expressive eyes peeking out from behind all the ninja masks, and how clearly movement was pictured, even with a limited pallet.

There was no way I could let this holiday season pass us by without creating some sort of activity to accompany this volume. I set to work creating a printable to accompany the book, and I have to be honest, imitating Pingk’s illustrative style was a lot of fun for me. #thebigone and I grabbed our printables and some simple supplies and set about creating a snowball fight scene even the bravest ninjas would be a little intimidated by!

In a nod to the visuals presented in the book, we picked out an assortment of red, blue, and grey markers to add color with. #thebigone didn’t want to color everything in, but I think the choices he made still pay homage to the original. Crayons, colored pencils, or paints would work just as well, so use what you have and feel comfortable with giving to your kids.

We wanted to create some dimensional interest for the snowball fight, and weighed a few option before settling on our choices. #thebigone used white pompoms of varying shades and craft glue to create some of the snowballs, and used white puffy paint for some of the others. Styrofoam ‘snowballs’, white beads, or even cottonballs might be other options to consider as well, along with just simply adding some paint. (I can totally picture using the flat eraser end of a pencil dipped in white paint as a great way to create uniform, round snowballs. Maybe something to try if we do this project again).

We gave our project plenty of time to dry- seriously, a lot, because my kid has a habit of going very heavy on the puff paint. When it was totally dry, #thebigone was really pleased with his creation, and anxious for the snow to really start falling here! I hope you and your family are able to enjoy this book during the holiday season. If you decide to create your own ninja vs. Santa snowball fights, I would LOVE to see them, so please feel free to email me photos, or tag me in posts on social media.

If you are thinking about adding this book to your home library, please consider purchasing via my Amazon Affiliate link below- you’ll get a book that we love & highly recommend at no additional cost to you, while I earn a small commission that allows me to be home with my kiddos. Win-win, right?!

Grab your printable here and get those snowball battles underway!

Winter fun for everyone is waiting for you right here!
Activities and crafts based on children’s literature are great for learning and retention- check out some other fun ideas!